Machine for washing corrugated sheeting



March 13, 1956 N. CASTAGNOLI 2,737,921

MACHINE FOR WASHING CORRUGATED SHEETING Filed Aug. 3, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet l 01-5 CHA RGE TABLE March 13, 1956 N. CASTAGNOLI MACHINE FOR WASHING CORRUGATED SHEETING 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1954 N xl w March 13, 1956 N. CASTAGNOLI MACHINE FOR WASHING CORRUGATED SHEETING 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fzfinfor; Mi 0 Caszanoli Filed Aug. 3, 1954 March 13, 1956 N. CASTAGNOLI 2,737,921

MACHINE FOR WASHING CORRUGATED SHEETING Filed Au 5, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1531/72 t fll lda QSZZJRO Z' United States Patent MACHINE FOR WASHING CORRUGATED SHEETING Nildo Castagnoli, Stone Park, Ill., assignor to Luminous Ceilings, Inc., Qhicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 3, 1954, Serial No. 447,516

11 Claims. (Cl. 118-72) This invention has as its principal object the provision of a machine for washing corrugated sheet material, particularly corrugated plastic sheeting such as is used in luminous ceiling structures.

This type of sheeting is pliable or moderately flexible about axes in the direction of its corrugations, that is crosswise, but it has, as a result of the corrugations, substantial rigidity against bendin about any lengthwise axis.

The corrugations therefore aiford sufiicient rigidity to the relatively thin sheets to permit them to be supported along their opposite longitudinal edges between parallel tracks.

Thus, an artificial or sub-ceiling is made up of side-bysidelengths of this corrugated plastic sheeting each about thirty-six inches wide and a minimum of eight feet long; and fluorescent lights are distributed in the plenum formed between the actual and subceilings, the latter affording an even, well-diffused light, among other advantages.

One of the problems in connection with this type of ceiling has been that of cleansing the sheet sections. Heretofore this operation has been inditferently performed by hand, the sections being turned into rolls upon removal from the supporting framework and given whatever treatment was available.

The sheet washing machine disclosed herein has as one of its features a feeding mechanism for traveling the sheets of corrugated plastic through a, series of closely sequential washing, rinsing, and waxing baths and delivering the refurbished sheet in a roll at the delivery end of the machine.

A further important object is the provision of a transversely movable scrubbing means for simultaneously scrubbing both sides of the sheet transversely along and in its corrugations.

Another object is the provision of a system of simple feed rolls and sprocket drive means therefor for leading the corrugated sheeting from a horizontal infeed trough down into a small wash tank and thence vertically upward for maximum drain-oif, then down and almost immediately upwardly through a rinse bath and past a recirculating rinse spray and drain-off passage, and finally downwardly and upwardly again through a destaticizing or wax bath and thence horizontally onto the discharge or inspection table.

Another object is the provision of a machine for pulling the sheeting between surface-treating members or brushes, and applying a drag to the sheeting before it enters the brushes for the purpose of temporarily flattening the sheeting a substantial amount while passing between the brushes to reduce the loading on the pulling or feeding means while presenting a more workable surface to the scrubbing action of the brushes.

Additional objects and aspects of novelty and utility relate to a means for leading a sheet initially into the machine and attaching subsequent sheets thereto. for continuous-low operations; and to details of the construction and operation of the preferred commercial embodiment described hereinafter in view of the annexed drawings in which:

2,737,921 Patented Mar. 13, 1956 Fig. 1 is atop plan view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional detail taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 with parts shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional detail taken along the full length of the machine in the direction of lines 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing the corrugation-scrubbing mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail, to enlarged scale, of two fragmentary sections of sheeting and the lead-in and follower harness therefor;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional detail taken along one of the harness hinges of Fig. 5.

A copending applicationSerial No. 208,217, now Patent No. 2,695,652, discloses a machine for treating and, corrugating strip material used for ceiling structures such as described herein.

Referring to Fig. 3, the new scrubbing machine consists of a plurality of separate tank sections including a main washing tank 10, a rinse tank 11, and a destaticizing or waxing tank 12, all fitted together in close contiguity. These tank sections are preferably separate and removable from the machine frame; although one tank may be used with sealed partitions to define the several sections where portability and ready disassembly may be sacrificed.

A main frame structure 15 (Fig. 3) is supported upon the contiguous tank sections, and is fabricated from longitudinal angle irons 15A, 1513 (Figs. 1 and 4) joined to cross bearers 15C and having secured as a part thereof a plurality of sets of uprights 15D and sets of pendant hanger arms 15E, (Figs. 3 and 4), all in a welded construction.

Means for training the corrugated sheeting through the several tank compartments 10,. 11, 12, includes two infeed rollers 20A, 2013, both of which idle freely on their respective shafts 20Y and are smooth-surfaced, that is, have no driving bars or teeth to engage in the corrugations. No drive is imparted to the sheeting by these infeed idler rollers, their function being to guide the sheeting and provide a drag for flattening down the corrugations for the scrubbing operation, as will be described.

A number of toothed working rollers 20C 29H are positioned to succeed the infeed rollers, and these are substantially identical in construction except as to differences in diameter and the fact that rollers 23D and 2% are not power driven but are permitted to idle. All of the toothed drive rollers consist of a set of metal tubes 20W welded about the peripheries of appertaining pairs of end discs 20X fixed near the ends of the corresponding shaft member 20Y (Figs. 3 and 4) and those of the rollers which are positively driven have their sprocket gears fast on their shafts, while the idling rollers, whether toothed or plain, have their sprockets free on their shafts.

The radius of the diameter of the tubes 29W approximates that of the corrugations in the plastic sheeting so that the tubes 20W mesh with the corrugations in the manner of gear teeth, as depicted in Fig. 3, and rotation of the set of rollers 20C 29H will pull the plastic sheeting or panels smoothly through the machine.

The several roller shafts ZiiY are respectively journaled in sets of bearings 21, seated on the several uprights 15D (Figs. 1 and 3) at the top of the frame, or carried by the pendant hanger arms 15E in the tanks, as in Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, some of the rollers lie at a level above the tanks, while others lie at a lower plane within the tanks, the relative alignment being such as to provide for vertical runs up from each tank for drain-back and spraying purposes, as will appear.

Means for drivingly rotating certain of the feed rollers includes the provision on each of the shafts 20Y of a pair of sprockets 22;, one near each of the opposite ends thereof, so that there are twin sets of said sprockets on each shaft located respectively at the opposite sides of the machine (Figs. 1, 2, and 4). An endless sprocket chain 23 is trained over each set of sprockets. However, the sprockets for the two infeed rollers 20A, 2013, as well as for rollers 20D and 20F, idle on their respective shafts and serve mainly as a guiding means for the sprocket chain 23.

As shown in Fig. 2, the power drive comprises a sprocket 24 on a drive shaft 202 after the last feed roller at the output or right-hand end of the machine, which shaft is driven by a third sprocket 25, and drive chain 26 from a speed reduction unit 27 belt-driven from the feed motor 28 mounted on a platform suspended on hanger arms 29 beneath the discharge table 30 at said output end of the machine.

The scrubbing means, as depicted in Fig. 3, includes upper and lower brushes 41 and 42 each attached to a corresponding transversely shiftable carrier rod 43 (see Fig. 4 also) seated to slide in opposite bracket members 44 supported pendantly from cross bars 45 on a set of the pendant angles 15E in tank 10.

A brush-reciprocating leverage is shown in Fig. 4 to include a lever 46 pivotally mounted at 47 on a projecting bracket arm 48 carried by one of the pendant arms 44 in tank 10.

Each of the reciprocable brush-carrier rods 43 is connected to the drive lever 46 at a side of the pivot 47 opposite from the connection for the other, as at 49, 49, by means of links 50, so that as the lever 46 oscillates the brush carrier rods reciprocate oppositely and move the brushes 41, 42 correspondingly so as to apply a balanced transverse scrubbing pressure to opposite sides of the plastic sheeting P, as viewed for example in Fig. 4.

Means for oscillating the drive lever 46 includes a scrubber motor 52 (Fig. 4) carried on a transverse plate 53 on the frame and driving a speed reduction unit 54 which in turn drives a crank disc 55 connecting with the upper end of lever 46 by a crank arm 56.

The transverse flexibility of the plastic ceiling sheets permits turning the panels into a roll upon withdrawal from the ceiling tracks, and the washing process starts with the deposit of such a roll in the infeed trough 32 (Figs. 1 to 3).

In order to thread and start the plastic properly through the tank maze, there is provided a lead-in harness shown in Figs. and 6 to include a long lead-in hinge 60 consisting of upper and lower jaws 61, 62 relatively pivotable about the hinge pintle 63. The upper jaw piece is provided with a series of sharp teeth 64 brazed thereto and passing through holes, as at 65, in the bottom jaw by means of which the leading edge of the plastic sheet P is seized.

The harness is completed with the provision of hooks 66, attached by springs 67 to harness wires 68 which in turn are anchored to clips 69 engaging longitudinally spaced points on the hinge clamp 60.

The sprocket chains 23 on opposite sides of the machine are each provided with a special double lead-in link 23X to which the harness hooks 66 are attached (as in Fig. 5) when a sheet is to be led into the machine.

invariably a large number of rolls will be processed in the machine, and the infeed is facilitated by a follower harness consisting of two sets of hinges 60X and 60Y coupled by linkages 7t) and furnished with sets of teeth exactly as in the case of the lead-in clamp 60. As the railing end of the first section, led in by the clamp and harness means 60, 66, 68, begins to depart from the infeed trough 32, the subsequent rolls (e. g. sheet P, Fig. 5) are coupled thereto by the double follower clamp means 69X, 6G3, and will feed into the machine without further attention. As the special infeed links 23X appear at the discharge station, the attendant disengages the harness books 66 and will remove the clamp 60 as the sheet feeds out.

The laterally reciprocating upper and lower brushes 41, 42 (as in Fig. 3) work thoroughly in the transverse corrugations of the plastic sheet and effectively remove, in conjunction with suitable chemical washing agents in the wash bath, the soil which inevitably collects in such formations on both sides of the sheet.

The final bath in tank 12 carries a wax-like agent which coats the sheet thoroughly and greatly reduces the electrostatic activity of the plastic material in acquiring electric charges which otherwise would attract dust particles and greatly hasten the condition of objectionable appearance and lowered efliciency.

The flexibility of the plastic sheeting will permit an appreciable longitudinal stretch so that the corrugation will momentarily flatten down somewhat, as might be necessary, in traversing the long bristles on the brushes.

This flattening is purposely accomplished by the idling action and smooth construction of the infeed rollers 20A, 263, the first driven roller 20C exerting a pull on the sheet which is sufficiently dragged by the infeed rollers to cause a substantive flattening thereof in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will be observed from Fig. 2, that the plastic sheet P is trained through a substantial vertical run as it leaves each tank section in order to drain otf the fluid from the corresponding stage of the process.

Moreover, in the first two tank sections the liquid contents are sprayed upon both sides of the vertical run of the sheet by means apparent in Fig. 2 and including a U- shaped spray pipe 70 having one end '71 capped and the remaining end connected by a hose 72 to a small selfcontained motor pump unit 73 which aspirates wash liquid from the bottom of the wash tank section 10 and delivers it under spraying pressure from conduit 74 to the wash spray 70. The sprayed wash liquid tends to fall back into the wash tank during the vertical departure of the plastic.v

The rinse water in tank section 11 is similarly extracted by a pump 76 and delivered via conduct 77 to another U-shaped spray pipe '78 likewise embracing the front and back surfaces of the plastic sheet in its vertical run from the rinse tank.

Suitable drain cocks are provided for all tanks, and the wash section is provided with a thermostatically regulated heater unit 80 (Fig. 1) which keeps the wash liquid at a temperature of about F. for most eflicient cleansing.

I claim:

1. A machine for washing stretchable corrugated plastic sheeting comprising a plurality of liquid tanks to contain wash liquid and closely positioned together in series; an infeed station at the outermost side of a first said tank, a discharge station at the outermost side of the last said tank; a framework overlying said tanks and having pendant bracket portions in each of the same; a system of feed rollers journalled on said framework and brackets some of the rollers of which have peripheral drive parts to engage with the corrugations of said sheeting for training said sheeting through vertically descending and rising paths from said infeed station through the liquid in each tank and thence to said discharge station; motor drive means for rotating only certain ones of said feed rollers in unison; and power-driven scrubber means in said first tank situated for scrubbing said sheeting transversely of its length while in motion as it travels through said first tank, certain of said rollers which are not rotated by the motor drive means as aforesaid being located at one side of said scrubber means with respect to the direction of travel of the sheeting and others of the certain rollers which are rotated by the motor driven means being located on the opposite side of said scrubber means with respect to said direction, whereby to impart a stretch to the sheeting to temporarily flatten down the corrugations in the region of the scrubber means, at least.

2. A machine for washing and treating stretchable corrugated plastic sheeting comprising a series of contiguous tanks, a plurality of rollers some of which have drive means about the peripheries thereof to mesh drivingly in the corrugations of the sheeting and s6me of which have no such drive means; means mounting certain of said rollers above said tanks and. certain others of said rollers in said tanks and in relative positions to train said sheeting from an infeed position above a first one of said tanks down into the latter and thence upwardly therefrom and down into and upwardly out of each of the following tanks to a discharge position beyond the last of the tanks; drive means for rotating said rollers which do have peripheral drive means in synchronism; and driven scrubbing means in at least one of said tanks in a position opposite the plane in which the sheeting travels therethrough to engage at least one surface of the sheeting during such travel and scrub the same transversely of the movement thereof; said tanks being adapted to contain sheet-treating liquids, certain of said rollers which have no peripheral drive means and which are not driven by the rotating means being located on both sides of said scrubbing means with respect to the direction of sheeting travel to effect a restraining drag thereon at said sides and thereby stretch and flatten down the sheeting a predetermined amount.

3. A machine for wash-treating corrugated flexible sheeting and comprising tanks arranged closely in series and each adapted to contain a treating liquid for the sheeting; a plurality of toothed rollers mounted at two levels one of which is in a horizontal plane above the tanks and the other of which is in a common horizontal plane within all tanks; drive means for rotating said rollers in step; said rollers being disposed in relations to train said sheeting from a predetermined infeed position above a first one of said tanks downwardly into the latter and thence upwardly out thereof and likewise sequentially down into and upwardlyout of each of the remaining tanks to a discharge position beyond the last of the tanks; and opposed oppositely reciprocable scrubbers situated in at least one of said tanks with each scrubber flanking one side of the path of the sheeting travelled therethrough, and both scrubbers moving transversely of the direction of such travel; together with drive means for reciprocating said scrubbers oppositely as aforesaid and drag-roller means engaged by said sheeting and situated relative to said scrubbers with respect to the direction of travel of said sheeting therepast to provide a drag on the sheeting at the side of said scrubbers at which the sheeting enters, at least, whereby to stretch the sheeting in its direction of travel and thereby flatten-down the sheeting a substantial amount particularly in the region of said scrubbers.

4. Apparatus for washing and waxing corrugated plastic sheeting comprising tank means including a wash compartment, a rinse compartment, and a waxing compartment in serial contiguity; a plurality of wide toothed rollers and means respectively journalling the same at levels above and within said compartments in predetermined relations of alignment to train said sheeting from an infeed position adjacent said wash compartment into the latter and thence upwardly through a vertical drain rise out thereof and thence into and through a vertical drain run out of the said rinse and waxing compartments respectively, the tanks being adapted to contain the appertaining washing, rinsing, and Waxing liquids; horizontally-extensive spray pipe means. extending transversely of the direction of travel of the sheeting through the vertical drain rise thereof above each of said wash and rinse compartments, at least, and pump means connected respectively to extract said wash liquid from the wash compartment and rinse liquid from the rinse compartment and deliver same respectively to the appertaining spray pipe means above said compartments; together with thermostatically controlled heater means mounted to communicate with said; wash liquid and operable to maintain the latter at a desired temperature; and means for driving certain of said rollers.

5. A machine for washing and destaticizing corrugated plastic sheeting and comprising in closely contiguous series a wash tank, a rinse tank, and a destaticizing tank, each adapted to contain the appertaining liquid; a system of toothed rollers respectively mounted at levels within and above said tanks and mounted to train said sheeting from an infeed position at said wash tank down into the latter, thence through a horizontal run, thence upwardly through a substantial vertical draining rise, thence downwardly into and upwardly through a vertical drain rise out of said rinse tank, and thence downwardly into and upwardly through a vertical drain rise out of said destaticizing tank; motor means for driving certain of said rollers as aforesaid; and opposed scrubbing means in said wash tank situated to flank and engage the opposite surfaces of the horizontal run of the sheeting travelled therethrough as aforesaid; together with drive means for moving the respectively opposed scrubbing means in opposite directions transversely of the direction of travel of the sheeting in said horizontal run.

6'. In a machine for treating corrugated sheeting, a series of contiguous compartments adapted to contain treating liquid; a plurality of wide upper rollers and means journalling the same in a series at a level above said compartments; a plurality of lower rollers and means journallingat least one of the same in each said compartment; twin sets of drive sprockets one fixed at each of the opposite axial ends of each of said rollers, and an endless sprocket chain training over each said set of sprockets, each chain having an offset lead-in link; motor means for driving one of said rollers whereby some of the same are jointly driven through said sprocket chains; said rollers each having corrugation-engaging formations about the peripheries thereof to drivingly mesh with the corrugations whereby said sheeting is travelled through each of said compartments; and harness means for starting said sheeting and including an elongated clamp adapted to seize leading transverse edge portions of a length of said sheeting, together with a pair of hook members each adapted to engage one of said oifset sprocket links and each attached by a flexible connection to said clamp, the advance of said chains pulling said clamp and the seized sheeting into driving mesh with a first one of said rollers when said hook members are engaged with the respective offset links as the latter are in position to advance immediately to said first roller.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 and further characterized by the provision of follower lead-in means in the form of a pair of said clamps interconnected and each adapted to seize respectively the trailing transverse edge of one preceding section of sheeting and the leading edge of an immediately following section of sheeting whereby a plurality of such sections may be led sequentially into the rollers without stopping the latter for sections after the first which are linked to any preceding sections by the follower lead-in means as aforesaid.

8. In a machine for treating flexible corrugated sheeting in lengths, in a series of wide feed rollers having formations interfitting with the corrugations in the sheeting in driving engagement therewith to travel the sheeting along a determined path; brush means mounted to reciprocate on opposite sides of the path of travel of said sheeting at a certain position; and idling roller means positioned in advance of said brush means and over which said sheeting travels toward said brush means without having any advancing drive force applied thereto and constituting a drag on the sheeting whereby to stretch the latter somewhat flatter than normal, cooperably with the driving effort exerted thereon by said feed rollers, for passage between said brush means.

9. In a machine for washing lengths of flexible cormgated plastic sheeting, at least two brushes mounted in opposition to reciprocate crosswise of said sheeting in scrubbing engagement, respectively, with opposite sides of the sheeting; means for reciprocating said brushes; and means for pulling sheeting between said brushes and stretching the same to somewhat flattened condition in passage therebetween, said last-mentioned means including toothed feed rollers situated on one side of said brushes in the desired direction of travel of the sheeting relative thereto; means for driving said feed rollers; and drag roller means on the opposite side of said brushes, at least, for imparting a restraining force on the sheeting tending to stretch the latter to flatter condition cooperably with the pulling effort of said feed roller means.

10. In a machine for treating lengths of corrugated flexible sheeting, movable surface-treating means situated on opposite sides of a predetermined path of travel of the sheeting for engagement respectively with opposite surfaces of the sheeting; means engageable with said sheeting for pulling the same along said path between said surface-treating means, and means situated on the side of the surface-treating means which is remote from the side of departure of the sheeting therefrom and acting upon the sheeting to apply a drag loading thereon sufficient in cooperation with the pulling effort of said pulling means to stretch the sheeting and temporarily flatten down the corrugations therein in passage of the sheeting between the surface treating means; together with mechanism for moving the surface-treating means as aforesaid.

11. In a machine for wash-treating lengths of transversely-corrugated, flexible sheeting; a tank to contain a treating fluid for the sheeting; sheet-roller means mounted at spaced positions relative to the tank to support and travel the sheeting along a predetermined path into and out of the same; power-actuated sheet-washing means positioned along said path at a location between the regions of entry and departure of the sheeting relative to the tank; drive mechanism connecting driving power to a certain part of said sheet-roller means to exert a pull on the sheeting from that side of the location of said washing means from which the sheeting departs in travel as aforesaid; and a part of said sheet-roller means which is located on that side of the washing means which the sheeting approaches exerting a dragging effort on the sheeting, whereby the latter is stretched to somewhat flatten down the corrugations therein in the lengthwise direction of the sheet, at least in those regions thereof traveling past said washing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,421,079 Greene June 27, 1922 1,633,216 Lakeman June 21, 1927 1,701,639 Schulz Feb. 12, 1929 2,179,831 Sedgwick Nov. 14, 1939 2,282,628 Whann et a1 May 12, 1942 

